197 x 143 mm. A view from the cliffs above a beach, looking out into the bay which is dotted with islands, towards mountains in the distance. The Bay of Islands is a drowned river system containing about 150 islands which lies on the east coast of North Auckland between Whangerei and Whangaroa. The first European to visit it was Captain Cook in 1769, and in the nineteenth century it became a watering place for whalers.